COUNTRY ONLY 'OUT OF THIS' WHEN VACCINE FOUND TO SUPPRESS DISEASE LEVELS, DOWNING STREET BRIEFING TOLD

ATHERSTONE and North Warwickshire had another two new cases of Covid-19 out of 42 additionally reported across neighbouring local authorities in the last 24 hours as experts warned of a "second wave" of the virus in autumn and winter.

The official total of 175 lab-confirmed cases comes as Professor Jonathan Van-Tam told a Downing Street briefing on Monday that the country had to prepare in case the number of cases fell throughout the summer months and then returned.

Only once there was a vaccine that is "really capable of suppressing disease levels" will the country be "out of this", he said.

Prof Van-Tam told the briefing more information was needed on the seasonality of coronavirus as it is a new virus which we "don't fully understand".

"One of the things that's very clear with flu viruses is that they come in our cold winters and the levels of transmission and circulation decline over the summer months," he said.

In response to the question on the Government preparing for a "second wave", he added that planning is required to be ready for any further healthcare surges that may occur.

His comments come as the UK's daily figure for Covid-19 deaths fell to 160 – the lowest since lockdown began– and Nub News revealed the virus had claimed the life of Atherstone-born former MP Bill Olner today.

Coronavirus outbreaks have been reported in almost four in 10 care homes in England, Downing Street has admitted.

Data collected by Public Health England working with the Care Quality Commission revealed 5,889 care homes had reported an outbreak of the deadly virus – 38 per cent of the overall total.

Meanwhile, newly-released figures put the cases of people testing positive in the district at a rate at nearly 270 per 100,00 population.

The statistics are revealed in additional information on 'lower tier' local authorities provided by the Government via the Office for National

Statistics more than 100 days since the first case of coronavirus was reported in the UK. The borough sits fourth out of nine in terms of cases per 100,000 among the neighbouring local council areas bordering Atherstone. North Warwickshire's case rate of 269.9 per 100,000 population is higher than the Warwickshire figure of 241.3 and England (257.5) and the West Midlands at 268.8. The UK figure of 363.2 per 100,000 population is bumped up by a Welsh rate of 395.2. Solihull tops the cases per 100,000 table for authorities around Atherstone's North Warwickshire borough – passing the 300 barrier at 301.5. It has recorded a total of 648 Covid cases. Close neighbours Nuneaton and Bedworth have reported 386 cases at the second highest rate just under 300 per 100,000 population. With the inclusion of population, recorded cases and rate per 100,000 population, the full table of authorities which have a boundary touching North Warwickshire reads: Solihull (population 214,909): Cases 648, at rate of 301.5 cases per 100,000;

Nuneaton & Bedworth (pop 128,902): Cases 386 at rate of 299.5 cases per 100,000;

Birmingham (pop 1.08 million): Cases 3,303, at rate of 289.4 cases per 100,000;

North Warwickshire (pop 64,850): Cases 175, at rate of 269.9 cases per 100,000;

Lichfield (pop 103,965:) Cases: 275, at rate of 264.5 cases per 100,000;

Tamworth (pop 76,678 ): Cases 166, at rate of 216.5 cases per 100,000;

Coventry (pop 325,949): Cases 782, at rate of 213.2 cases per 100,000;

Hinckley & Bosworth (pop 112,423): Cases 232, at rate of 206.4 cases per 100,000; and

North West Leicestershire (pop 102,126): Cases 142, at rate of 139 cases per 100,000. Eight people in Atherstone have lost their lives to the virus, putting the town at a current rate of 75 deaths per 100,000, according to the Office for National Statistics, with only Birmingham above on 78. The figures are relevant for coronavirus deaths between March 1 and April 17. North Warwickshire, which finds itself surrounded by no fewer than eight other adjoining Midland authorities, has recorded 24 deaths in that timescale – with an ONS mortality rate of 35 per 100,000. Warwickshire's confirmed cases now stand at 1,378 (up eight since the weekend), Staffordshire is on 2,090 (a rise of 19 in the same period), Leicestershire on 1,152 (increase of 13) and Birmingham on 3,303 (up 28). Midland cases total 24,250 (up 234), the North West 23,786, while London is on 26,487. The UK death toll increased by just 160 – its lowest since lockdown – after 638 recorded fatalities over the weekend. The tally now stands at to 34,796 – the highest in Europe by more than 2,500 with Italy's tally on 32,007 fatalities. Overall a total of 2,682,716 tests have been carried out, and 246,606 cases have been confirmed positive, not including the most recent Northern Ireland tests. UK now sits fourth in the world table of recorded cases, behind Spain on 277,719 – whose death toll has dropped below 100 for the first time since March – with Russia moving up into second place on 290,678 but only reporting 2,722 deaths. The US in the top position – passing through the 90,000 barrier for deaths on 91,094 fatalities and with 1.53 million people testing positive. In the US, new location data shows that lockdown protesters are spreading the virus across states as they travel hundreds of miles to their rallies. The VoteMap study showed cases of people going over 180 miles and crossing state borders. Meanwhile in Sweden – which refuses to close its bars, restaurants or schools – the country has recorded its deadliest month in 30 years in April. The pandemic has caused around 3,700 deaths out of 10,458 fatalities. On April 1, Sweden reported 239 coronavirus-related deaths, but that number reached 2,586 by the end of the month. This is the highest death toll the country reported in a single month since December 1993, when 11,057 people died. The death tally across the globe from coronavirus stands at 317,793. Some 1.88 million have recovered worldwide out of 4.85 million recorded cases.